Oct. 18 Rides

Thom and I did the local club ride today. The weather was just about perfect, low 60s when we left the house at 7 and about 75 when we got home a little after 10.

The group broke into two separate rides - one doing a 30 mile ride with an expected pace of 18 - 20 mph. The other doing about 25 miles with a pace of 15 - 16 mph. At this point Thom and I split up and I went with the fast group. There were 4 of us and I was able to stay right with the three guys for the first 12.5 miles, at an average pace of 19 mph. Then we got to the rolly section and I couldn't hang on. It's a section of road that I ride pretty often by myself, so I knew when I would have some downhills. I usually just coast on the downhills, but today I used them to stay with the group. I was able to keep them in sight, but couldn't ride their pace. Okay, being on long, flat roads helped me to keep them in sight. :rolleyes:

It was nice to have some really fast rabbits to chase, because I pushed myself a lot harder than I normally do on a ride and that was the point. I ended up averaging 17 mph with them and an average HR of 173. I don't think I held them too much since we got back in time for the ride leader to shower before he had to open the shop at 10. :p

We'd like to do this ride every week that I don't have an event. I'll probably alternate which group I go with though. It is a No Drop ride, but I don't like making people wait too much for me.

I didn't look at the scenery too much. I did ogle the nice calves on the guys in the early part of the ride when I was drafting them. The terrain was a lot flatter than my usual rides. I ended up with 42.4 miles total. Thom and I just sort of moseyed on home after. My legs were pretty fried.

Veronica

Today i rode solo to southcenter in Tukwila to meet my mother and do a bit of shopping. It was glorious, fall colors brilliant, weather in the 50's and eventually the 60's sun popping in and out behind fluffy clouds.
After we did our chores and ate lunch, we returned to find her car had a very flat tire. of course she panicked and i decided to change the tire. Didn't get very far since she didn't have a tire iron. I started asking random men in the parking lot. an amazing number did not seem to own this tool. Finally someone took pity (one that previously did not have a tire iron) and two younger men endeavored to change the tire (couldn't let a couple of old ladies do it) one sort of knew what he was doing, he took charge of the jack. The other owned the tire iron and it was clear that he had never changed a tire. Of course all the lugs were too tight, so he started straining. I suggested he use his feet on the thing (like I have done) and he was able to work the lugnuts free one by one. While my mother was fretting about not having money to give them, I was helping get the lugs off. They quickly put the donut on and with a lot of handshaking they were off, happy to have done a good deed. (and clearly not concerned about getting $5 for their trouble :) )Soon I was off, back on my bike blissfully riding into the wind (light wind) and gazing at the wildly colored trees.
This particular route after going through a few miles of a parklike setting takes me over a highway overpass with no bike lane, no sidewalk and 3 car lanes. It's full of glass and fast cars, but soon enough, i was over that one too, and into the homestretch, with my only serious hill climb ahead of me. It's a street that does not seem to be in the city. There are almost no houses and the road is all under tree cover. And that's when I noticed that I was having a bit more difficulty than I should climbing. I figured I was just rusty, until i felt the bump bump bump of the rear tire. AUGH! I got a flat tire! 1 mile from my house. I pulled over and filled the tire with air. It held. I got back onto the bike and tried to finish climbing the hill. Near to the summit, the bumping got too bad so I decided to walk home. two flat tires. sheesh. but a lovely ride, 24 miles including the mile of walking :D

Penny and I did the Foxy's 50K. I don't think I'll do it next year, not unless I have someone to ride with. We got a late start (that is life with a baby, plus it took forever to find a place to park -- I nearly gave up and went home) so we really rode alone for most of the ride out, and then the trailer got a flat tire at the rest stop so we were really the last ones out. (The Davis Bike Club is awesome, though: one person fixed our flat while another found some goldfish and pretzels to entertain Penny, who was not amused by the delay.)

We made it because we had to (I don't think sag wagons have carseats, and my husband was riding the century -- when we got the flat I was mentally running through people I knew with both bike racks and infant seats who could come pick us up in a pinch). It was my longest ride pulling the trailer, and her longest stretch in the trailer, and it was pretty tedious by the end. It's not a very interesting ride and she cries if I go over about 15.5 miles an hour, so it took forever.

But she had a great time, both during the ride and afterwards. Bikes! Bikes everywhere! The child has a thing for rear derailleurs -- she thinks they are fascinating. I had to constantly stop her from mauling strange bikes.

Xeney how come she cries when you go fast? too noisy? too bumpy?

Without much on my schedule for the day, and in anticipation of winter coming and the end of riding outdoors for a while, I decided to go out for a long solo ride. I left home at 8:30am into a rather cold (48F) Chicago morning. It took me a while to warm up, and I started thinking that the whole idea of a long ride was a bit crazy. After about 12mi or so, I was feeling better. My planned route was a nice 50 mile out and back (one that I generally enjoy doing on weekends), then passing my apt building before heading into an additional 25mi route that I usually do during the week. I decided that if I wasn't feeling it, I would just bail after 50. But by then I was feeling good and kept going. I stopped for a minute to stretch and grab a snack and notice that my calves were a bit tight and I started to worry that I would cramp up before getting home, but took the chance and kept going. The last 25 miles ended up feeling great. It made me think back to the beginning of this summer (when I was dreadfully out of shape) when I did that route (just the 25mi) and it nearly killed me. Today, I tacked it on the end of a long ride, and felt great!!!
When I returned home at 2:30pm I was tired and hungry but proud of myself for doing a 75mi solo ride!! The only longer ride I have ever done was a supported ride along with friends.

Meg was in town so we headed out for a hilly ride. It was chilly! I didn't tell her where we were going, but she figured out I was going to take her over Microwave Hill for the first time for her. At the bottom of the descent, I had to stop and take zebra pictures.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3135/...2625bdc8e8.jpg

Then we rode through town and stopped for a few at Oktoberfest.

Then as we travelled on my Garmin fell off my bike, I slowed, she clipped my back wheel and went down. A scraped leg and a twisted brifter resulted, so we headed back to my house to treat both. It was still a good ride though.

ETA: I have now ordered a new Garmin mount

Did a short 15.2 mile ride with my husband. It's not the usual "loop" I do for short rides. It's funny that this ride seemed longer; we both thought it was about 20 miles. I don't know why, except that it starts with a climb up Strawberry Hill.
Fall is really here. The temperature was 51 at 2 PM when we went out and it's 34 this morning. We are supposed to go down to the south coast/RI for a 40 mile ride today. I am secretly hoping our friends cancel because I am not looking forward to 20 mph winds, clouds, and 50 degrees by the shore. I really like this ride because we stop at the Westport Winery, but I am not sure I want to drive 80 miles to ride in those conditions when I could ride 40 miles right out my door.

I too joined the club for a ride - a very hilly and challenging century. The morning started cold - no other word for it. Arm and leg warmers in place, ear cover and wind jacket along with wool socks. All I could do was hope I would stay warm.

The first 25 miles of the ride were pretty flat but the thoughts of steep inclines loomed as we left the first store stop. At this point I felt pretty good other than being cold. My feet had started to hurt and I was hoping with the hills ahead I would finally warm up some; this never happened all day! The climbing started almost immediately and each new hill felt steeper than the previous one. As we approached what was suppose to be the steepest and hardest climb of the day I used my inhaler again in hopes of warding off an asthma attack. The climb up Hanley Lane was a tough one just when you thought you had it beat another section appeared and the climbing continued. Thankfully once we crested it we were only a few miles from the lunch stop and a much needed break. We arrived at the lunch stop and I knew my lungs were having problems. A few more hits on the inhaler and things at least seemed to stabilized and I told myself just 50 more miles.

After lunch we faced yet more climbing and my lungs were not happy but I pushed on counting off the miles. In the flat sections my legs came to life and I was able to really push it some and I knew when we hit the last store I would be in good shape - all roads I had traveled many times, very familiar terrain. When we arrived at the last store stop my lungs were a bit worse and I knew if I had too I could bail but with 25 miles to go and pretty flat terrain that did not seem like a reasonable option so I pressed forward. As we pressed on the last 25 miles I discovered I had a small cheering section of one along the road; BF was following the ride and stopping to give me a most need boast from time to time. Just seeing him as I flew by did wonders for my spirits and kept me pressing forward. The legs and lungs were spent but each time I saw him there seemed to respond as if new life had been infused into them. At mile 86 a major error appeared on the cue sheet but given these are roads I ride on a frequent basis I knew how to correct and get home without a lot of extra miles. The group pressed on and when we turned on to highway 55 I knew the last 10 miles would be flat and fast. The tailwind that greeted us was a welcome gift as well for we had been fighting a headwind most of the day. The group set a fast past (20-23 mph) and the last ten miles flew. I was never so happy to see my car - my lungs were tight, my legs were sore & tired and my spirits were soaring. I had reached my goal of 30 centuries for the season. The ride was good, the support was wonderful and I can put this season to rest knowing I had a great year on the bike.

In the end we climbed 7794 feet, covered 103 miles and I did it with an average speed of 15.5 mph. It was a great way to end my season with the club and now it is time to start mulling around my goals for the 2009 season. What will I shot for next season?

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Xeney how come she cries when you go fast? too noisy? too bumpy?

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Too bumpy, I think. She's little -- about 18 pounds -- and the shocks on the Chariot are intended for a kid 25 pounds or over. I rode behind my husband once when he had her in the back on a gravel road, and he was going pretty fast and she was bouncing all over the place. She HATED it. We aren't taking her off paved roads again until she hits 25 pounds.

She did not mind the potholes or rough roads we traveled yesterday as long as I did not go too fast. I always say "wheee!" when we go over a bump and sometimes I hear this little "whee!" from the trailer. (She doesn't talk much yet but she likes to repeat fun sounds.)

We did not see any zebras or do anything as cool as makbike's century, however.

Bring her here and we'll take her to see zebras and llamas and emus!

Rode with the club on Saturday. Gorgeous day! Great Ride. We started in Fall City, rode up to Snoqualmie Falls, through North Bend along beautiful quiet back country roads with awesome views of fall foliage. Stopped in North Bend for lunch and saw Mt. Si peeking through some clouds.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...defallcity.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...efallcity2.jpg
Town of North Bend with Mt. Si attempting to break through the remaining clouds.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d1...es/sunrise.jpg
This picture was not taken on Saturday's ride but I had to add it. I took this on an early morning ride about 1 or 2 weeks ago.

Susan! gorgeous photos! (what club are you riding with?)

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Originally Posted by Biciclista

Susan! gorgeous photos! (what club are you riding with?)

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Thanks Biciclista! Cascade Bike Club. We had, I would have to say, 30 riders on yesterdays ride! I had a great time!

Completed my first century today! Yahoo!!! It was an awesome ride...certainly not easy, but I guess I trained enough for it because it wasn't as difficult as I was expecting.

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Originally Posted by RolliePollie

Completed my first century today! Yahoo!!! It was an awesome ride...certainly not easy, but I guess I trained enough for it because it wasn't as difficult as I was expecting.

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Congratulations RolliePollie on completing your first century! Did you get any pictures? Which ride did you do?